


Clair de Lune

by taeroj



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Dahyun is a pianist, F/F, Family, Tzuyu is also a baby, samo are twins, synthesia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:55:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23625739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taeroj/pseuds/taeroj
Summary: mina is a mother stuck in an abusive relationship who wants the best for her kids, dahyun just wants a night of sleep. maybe the wall seperating their apartments is the only thing keeping them from their goals.
Relationships: Im Nayeon/Myoui Mina, Kim Dahyun/Myoui Mina
Comments: 10
Kudos: 127





	1. Chapter 1

Dahyun sighed, flipping her sizzling egg as once again muffled yells and cries bled through her apartment wall, painting the small kitchen in angry shades of red. It was a daily occurrence, and even though Dahyun had called the cops twice in her short three months of living in the apartment, they never ceased. Today it sounded particularly bad though, the 'aggressor' seemed to not back down, even when the other voice went quiet. 

A loud pop of her egg made her jump back, taking her thoughts away from the loud yells making their ways through the walls. She took her egg off the pan, removing it from heat and threw it on a plate, discarding the pan into an already impressively large pile of undone dishes. 

She took the plate over to her sofa (the sad excuse for a piece of furniture was probably one heavy plop away from being in absolute tatters) sat crisscross and turned on her TV. The yells raised in volume, and so did Dahyun turning up the volume to a level that was really uncomfortable so she had to turn it down again. She ate her egg, but then a particular sound caught her ear, a child's cry. 

Well, that was new.

Maybe, she needed to check on things tonight herself. Sparing a look over at the clock, she couldn’t help but let a frown form. They've been going at it for at least forty-five painstaking minutes now. With sighed, she made sure to grab her key (she had locked herself out of her own place too often) exited her apartment, and rang the bell of apartment 2A.

It was funny, even though she heard them every night, she had never actually seen them. The faces that belonged to the voices bleeding in through their thin shared wall could only manifest in her imagination. It was always two women, sisters maybe? Lovers even? A loud voice always started the altercation, spewing shades of a fiery red in every direction as she got more worked up. It was overwhelming, completely covering the entire space. A softer voice would also call out, a sad purple, trying to defend itself from the onslaught of red. (The purple always failed.)

Dahyun had spent many nights imagining what exactly they looked like. The red voice seemed big and foreboding, maybe she was tall, with beady eyes that pierced the soul. With a steely gaze that could disarm even the scariest of creatures. The purple, however, she couldn’t try an conjure up an image.

She was just purple. Nothing more, nothing less. 

It took a few seconds for the door to be opened, she heard the scrambling around on the inside as footsteps approached the door. Then it opened. 

The almost angelic face that greeted her was far from her imagination. She looked frazzled, her hair frizzing up and away, looking at her with big, bloodshot eyes. Her hint of mascara was smudged, seemingly rubbed in a desperate attempt to make herself presentable. But Dahyun's eyes fixated on the bright red handprint covering her left cheek. It looked vile like someone had accidentally spilled paint on a Van Gough painting. When she opened her mouth, Dahyun nearly swooned at the heavy Japanese accent coating the words that flowed from her lips, "can I help you?" The woman’s words were stammered, and soft from nerves, but unmistakably and undeniably that brilliant shade of purple. 

That snapped Dahyun out of her haze, she turned to the woman, a serious look on her face, "Yeah, I just wanted to see if everything was alright. I heard a lot of yelling, I live in the apartment next door, I'm Kim Dahyun."

The woman flushed, "Oh I’m very sorry about that, I'm Myoui Mina. We uh-" she seemed to be searching her mind for some sort of excuse for the loud screams. Dahyun could see it momentarily, the desperation flashed through her eyes and the embarrassment that tinged her cheeks. But she found an escape when a new face introduced herself into the equation.

Dahyun registered a mass of black hair, running towards Mina and grabbing onto her thigh, clearly upset, burying her face into the flesh, "Mommy."

Mina just put a hand on the child's back, trying her best to rub small circles onto her back, "We have kids, you know how they can be loud. Sana say hi to Miss.Kim."

The girl, Sana, didn't respond, but just kept her grip on her mother. Dahyun just gave Mina her best smile, telling her it was okay, "we?"

"My girlfriend Chaeyoung, and I," Mina answered. 

Dahyun wasn't convinced, the screams were coming from a voice that was adult. And they definitely did not seem to be directed at the small child clinging onto her mother for dear life. It was also not the soft-spoken woman in front of her for sure. There was so much to say, but the words got caught in her throat, so she just settled on, "Are you sure everything's alright? Do you need me to call someone?"

"I'm sure, I'm very sorry for disturbing you." Mina apologized, bowing a bit. But Dahyun could tell her facial expression didn't match what she was saying, she was sorry, but she looked scared. She glanced behind her before looking back, "Have a good night."

And with that, the door closed in her face, leaving a confused Dahyun standing in the hallway. She went back into her own apartment, what just happened replaying over and over in her head. 

She didn't hear the screams start up again for three days. 

(Dahyun wasn’t any less worried.)

-

The next time Dahyun saw Mina was outside their apartment building. 

She watched as the girl tried to balance two hyperactive kids while bringing in groceries. Dahyun couldn't help but let out a little laugh at the sight. Mina was making both kids hold onto her shirt because her hands were preoccupied with two big brown paper bags filled to the brim with groceries. Both kids, while complying with their mother's wishes, seemed to be playing some sort of game of tag around the woman nearly tripping her a few times. 

She knew it wasn’t her place, but her feet moved anyways on their own accord (Dahyun never thought things through). She crossed the street after looking once and jumped up the cracked sidewalk trailing behind the young family. 

"Need a hand?" Dahyun offered, clearly startling all three of them. She saw the two kids stop their game of tag, tightening their grip on Mina’s shirt. When they turned and saw Dahyun standing there, looking a bit awkward, Mina relaxed if only a little bit. 

"You seem busy, we won't bother you," Mina said, giving her an appreciative nod. She adjusted the bag of groceries in her hands, trying to smile through the pain of her aching arms. 

"I'm just heading up to my place, I insist." Dahyun smiled, outstretching her hands waiting patiently for Mina to relinquish a bag to her (it took five seconds). Dahyun tucked the bag into her arms, as Mina gave her an appreciative look, flexing her arms a few times to try and get some of the feelings back into them. When they started to walk again, Dahyun turned to the two kids, who looked torn between being skeptical of the new stranger, or friendly to her. The pianist smiled at the girl she recognized from the night before, "You're Sana, but you, who are you?"

The little girl next to Sana gave her a bright smile, "I'm Momo!"

"Momo," Dahyun repeated, reminding her of a green plane, calm, peaceful. She pressed the button for the elevator, "that's a nice name."

While Momo beamed at the praise, Sana seemed to be personally offended. She let out a little huff, crossing her arms as they stepped into the elevator, "you didn't say that about Sana."

Dahyun hit her head, faking forgetfulness, garnering small giggles from the two girls, "My bad, Sana is just such a beautiful name I forgot I even had to say anything."

That seemed to satisfy her, and Sana went right back to playing with Momo. With the kids now occupied, she turned her attention back to Mina who seemed to have just watched the scene with a gentle smile, "Thank you."

"No problem, I had a question, tell me if it's rude. But where are you from? You have an accent." Dahyun widened her eyes at how it sounded, "Not that accents are bad! I love accents, they're the best!"

Mina let out a small laugh, "I'm from Kobe, Japan."

"Kobe?" Dahyun repeated, "Wow, I've been there once. I had a piano competition there. Nice place, truly."

Truthfully, Dahyun didn’t remember much of the trip. She remembers the ache of her fingers as she struck the keys for hours at a time, crying as she begged to stop just for a minute. She remembers her name being announced for first place. But that was it. She didn’t go sightseeing like the other kids, the only glimpse she got of the city was from bus windows as she pressed chubby fingers up against trying to take in the sights of the city at night, lit up and full of life even when everyone around her seemed to be devoid of that spark. 

(Dahyun feared to lose that spark herself).

A gentle laugh coming from Mina, a light purple this time, pulled her from her thoughts. Like an expert, she rounded up her kids and stepped off the small elevator, and into the hall. The group stopped in front of their apartments, Mina taking the groceries back once again, "Thank you."

Dahyun waved her off, "No worries, do you guys want a cup of coffee or Juice? Sorry I don't know if kids can have coffee or not-"

"Babe who's that?" A voice interrupted, walking down the hall. The voice was a deep burgundy red, demanding attention as it dripped down the walls of the hallway. Dahyun watched as not only Sana and Momo stiffened up, but Mina as well at the voice. She turned around to see a shorter woman walking down the hallway, with a short mushroom-like a hair cut. (This was definitely not what Dahyun had imagined).

"This is our neighbor, Dahyun." Mina introduced. Dahyun gave her a small wave as the other girl seemed disinterested digging a set of keys from her back pocket and slipped them into the lock, "And this is my girlfriend, Chaeyoung."

Chaeyoung seemed to give her a look over before turning to the door and opening it without saying a word. She proceeded to usher the kids inside and finally gave Mina a look and the girl knew she needed to go. She gave Dahyun a small wave and disappeared into the house.

Dahyun sighed, unlocked her own apartment letting herself in. The screams started again, and Dahyun just made herself another egg, resisting the urge to go over and knock on the door. 

(Dahyun wasn’t sure what held her back.)

-

"Are you stalking me?" 

Dahyun turned around, still blowing on the steaming fishcake she held in her hand. Mina was standing beside her, looking at her with a teasing smile, turning to the cart lady, "four fishcakes please."

"I should ask the same for you." Dahyun shot back, biting into her food while Mina paid for her's, "I was here first."

Mina just shrugged, picking her choice of the sticks, putting them and a little broth into a plastic bag, wrapping it up and tying it tight, "this is my spot."

"Um, actually it's mine, that's my friend." Dahyun pointed to the girl behind the cart, who shot back a shy wave.

"Nayeon right?" Mina asked, taking a seat, slipping an extra bill onto the counter as she took another stick and bit into it. Apparently, the woman forgot it was still scalding hot, as she had to open her mouth to let some of the hot air out.

Not missing a beat, Nayeon flashed her signature smile (Dahyun rolled her eyes) as she just slid the bill back towards the mother, "Yup, Minji?"

"Mina."

"Ahh sorry, picking up some treats for the kids again?"

"Yup, it's Friday fishcake day." Mina said standing up once again, throwing the now clean stick into the small trash container they had, "I should probably start heading home."

"Okay see you on Sunday." Nayeon waved goodbye as the woman walked away leaving the two friends once again. When she was out of hearing range, Nayeon turned to Dahyun with that look that she hated. A slight smirk, while her left eyebrow was raised just slightly more than the other as if she was trying to insinuate something with actually doing so, "You two friends?"

"No, neighbors," Dahyun answered biting into another fishcake.

"She comes every Friday and Sunday for a few fishcakes, sometimes she brings the kids, cute kids." 

"Yeah, I wish she would stop screaming at night though-"

"She screams?" Nayeon asks, clearly trying to conjure up the image of the soft-spoken woman raising her voice, "doesn't seem like her."

"Well I don't think it's her, I think it's her girlfriend."

"That makes more sense. Does she have a girlfriend?” And just like that Nayeon is back, snapping her fingers overdramatically as she pointed in the direction Mina had walked away in, “Dammnit I was going to ask her on a date."

Dahyun gave Nayeon an amused look, "She has kids."

"Kids love me!" Nayeon defended, crossing her arms. She faltered after one quick eyebrow raise from Dahyun, "okay fine, maybe I shouldn't."

Dahyun just shrugged, took a look at her watch and decided to head out. She stood up, taking the piano case from where it rested next to her and took out her wallet, "how much do I owe ya?"

"Tonight it's on the house." Nayeon said, flipping food over and tending to the cart, "but don't get used to this."

"Thank you," Dahyun said, walking away. She walked the whole five minutes to her apartment, enjoying the brisk night air. She rode the elevator and arrived at her door once again. Right before she was about to turn the key in the lock, she heard the cries of a young girl seeping through the door next to her. The cries of a muted forest green, crying out in fear as a bang resonated throughout the floor. She stopped and listened. 

"She's just a child!" Mina's distinctive voice cried out, a sad purple before a yelp sounded out.

"Shut the fuck up!" (Dahyun hated the color red).

"Stop!" This time Sana’s yellow tone stood out, wavering slightly.

More bangs and cries came from the closed door. Dahyun had no idea how she got there, but Dahyun found herself knocking on the door. She got no response the first time, she tried again with a little more urgency. The door swung open and Dahyun was face to face with a red-faced Chaeyoung, "what?"


	2. Chapter 2

Dahyun wasn't ever one to truly hate a person without getting to know someone first. Twenty-seven long years of life experience had manufactured that type of thought. But for Son Chaeyoung, she would make an exception. 

When the door swung open so violently the girl was sure it would be ripped off the hinges, it creaked and shrieked in the silent hallway air. She didn't flinch. She just looked into the eyes of Chaeyoung, who's own was mere inches away from her own. Her face was splotchy, with angry red patches painting her face and neck. Her jaw was tight, and her veins roared under the skin of her neck. But Dahyun dared to tear her eyes away and look past the woman, to where the reason she even knocked on the door in the first place. 

The pianist's eyes first locked with Momo's round ones. Ghostly pale, gripping tightly onto a crying Sana. Then Dahyun saw the red handprint decorating Sana's cheek. But below them was Mina, picking up carefully pieces of a broken plate and placing them into her palm. She could see the tears threatening to spill from the young mother's eyes, covering them in a glossy sheen that seemed to reflect the light. 

She shifted her gaze back to Chaeyoung's piercing gaze, almost daring her to say something. Dahyun could smell the cheap whiskey and tobacco on her breath. She could see from the way the woman swayed. She could see that this was a waste of human life.

"Is everything alright here?" She asked, keeping an edge to her voice.

Chaeyoung let out a low humorless laugh, "How about you fuck off."

"You're screaming so loud that the entire floor can hear." Dahyun clipped back.

"Buy some fucking earplugs then." And with that the door slammed in Dahyun's face, leaving her standing there. 

How pathetic she must look, standing in front of a closed door, staring at the painted wood grains completely powerless to the horrors inside apartment 2A.

...

"The fuck you mean you’re leaving her here?" Dahyun snapped at her sister, looking at the young girl now sitting on her couch, petting her dog stuffie absentmindedly. She could tell the woman was high, again, from the way her pupils dilated

This wasn’t what she expected at eight in the morning when incessant knocking reverberated off of her front door. She had opened the door to see her sister, looking all too high and mightly for what she was bout to do, holding her niece that looked underdressed for the cold early September weather. Not much had changed since the last time Dahyun had seen them, Tzuyu still had her chubby cheeks and big doe eyes. It calmed her a bit. So she had invited them, sat Tzuyu in the living room as the two adults started to try and hash it out. 

Her kitchen was a mess, filled with stacks of sheet music thrown in haphazard piles on the table and counters. A few unwashed dishes from the night before filled the sink, and an old keyboard she was trying to fix was laid out on the table, little bits and pieces spread across the surface and the piles of paper. She wasn’t prepared for guests. (She never was prepared for the mess Seungwan created.)

"Dahyunnie, I'm in trouble." She said, reaching a thin arm to her sister's arm, "I can't deal with her right now."

"She's a kid! She’s your kid." 

"I know!” Seungwan shot back, a defensive tone in her voice,“ Look it's only until I get clean again."

"You said that last time."

"I know." The two just stared at each other, a silent game of chicken. Seeing who was going to crack first.

(It was Dahyun, it always was Dahyun.)

Dahyun just sighed and ushered the woman out of her apartment, pushing her through the door before she could say any more false promises. Not wanting to see her face any longer than she had to. She turned to the girl sitting on her couch, "So I guess it's just you and me chewy."

The girl just nodded, they both had a mutual understanding that nothing had to be said. 

"Do you want to do something?" Dahyun offered. This wasn't the first time the younger girl had been dumped on Dahyun, even though Tzuyu was only five years old, Dahyun would argue she spent more time with her than her actual mother.

Usually the girl would shake her head, continue to play with her toy, and Dahyun would attempt to make something other than a fried egg for the child. But today Tzuyu took her by surprise, she nodded, "Can you teach me piano?"

Thinking it over for a moment she nodded, and grabbed her house key, holding out a hand for Tzuyu to grab onto. Tzuyu obliged happily, tripping over herself trying to jump off the couch while holding the stuffed dog half her size that Dahyun had bought her the day she was born. Minjoong was very visually well-loved, his fur was a bit matted and he had the beginnings of a tear on his right ear, but Tzuyu loved that thing. She latched onto the hand and the pair left the apartment. Sure, Dahyun had a few keyboards laying in the apartment, but they were expensive and not really suited for kids to smash. 

So the apartment complex's grand piano it was. 

Honestly, Dahyun thought it was so random that they put a whole grand piano in the community rec room (that no one used) but she didn't complain. She had used it multiple times and while slightly out of tune, it worked great for parts she needed a feel on a true piano. 

So she sat Tzuyu on the bench next to her, and instead of boring her with things like notes, or peddles (she knew damn well the five-year-old did not care) she decided to teach a song. The song that Dahyun swore deserved to rot in hell for all eternity; Chopsticks. She placed Tzuyu's chubby fingers on the keys and helped her press down, cringing at how it was awfully off tempo and the notes were not being pressed correctly. But Tzuyu seemed to enjoy it, so she dealt with it for now. The pair continued on, eventually moving onto hot cross buns (again Dahyun died a bit inside) until they heard hushed giggles behind them. 

The pair turned around to see Sana and Momo's smiling faces staring right back at them. Dahyun and Tzuyu simultaneously let out a surprised scream, which the twins just laughed at. Dahyun placed a hand over her rapidly beating heart, "You two scared me!"

Momo giggled, light and airy, "Sorry, we just wanted to jump rope."

True to her words, Momo held a bright blue jump rope in her hands, "Mommy said we could do it in here because it was raining outside."

The pianist turned her attention to Sana, who in stark contrast to the night before looked relatively alright. Gone was the tearstreaked scared expression from her face, but a giddy smile that stretched across her features. There was still a light, faint, impression of a bruise resting on her cheek, but she didn’t seemed to be bothered by it. She looked at Dahyun with amazed eyes, "You play the piano?"

Dahyun nodded, "Mhm."

"Can you play me something? Please?" Sana whined, grabbing onto Dahyun's oversized sweatshirt. She gave Dahyun a small pout and batted her eyelashes. Dahyun let out an internal groan, knowing she couldn't resist the kid's charm and placed her fingers on the keys. 

Clair de Lune had always been one of Dahyun's personal favorites. She closed her eyes as her fingers floated across the ivory keys, as Dahyun swayed back and forth. The kids could only look on in admiration as Dahyun changed the key signature and continued playing. There was something about the piece that always pulled at her chest, a deep iridescent purple blooming in the corners of the room. It swirled overhead, as the moonlight touched Dahyun’s fingers, intertwining with ivory keys that seemed to press themselves. The purple was tainted with a certain sadness, like a memory you look back and realize it wasn’t as happy as you had thought. But it also fostered the smallest amount of hope, shimmering between notes. She let the purple wash over her, filling her up, tugging at her, until the song ended and she opened her eyes. The purple had disappeared, however, three kids stared back at her in awe. 

"You're amazing," Sana whispered, looking up at Dahyun. Her mouth was parted slightly, looking up at Dahyun in deep concentration. 

"I can play too!" Tzuyu butted in, taking Dahyun once again, by surprise. Tzuyu was a shy kid, and Dahyun constantly had to fight to get her to say anything. But here she was, offering to show her (lack of) piano skills to a complete stranger. She smirked at how Tzuyu stuck out her tongue, engrossed on successfully producing chopsticks and looked back down at Sana for confirmation, frowning when she still realized she was paying attention to Dahyun. 

A soft voice speaking interrupted the moment, as Mina entered the room, obviously speaking Japanese because Dahyun had no idea what she was saying. (It sounded pretty though.) She just gave her a smile when she noticed her, and Mina gave one back. But Dahyun's smile slowly melted away when she saw the light bruise on Mina's cheek. She knew how it got there. 

Momo said something back, probably an answer to her Mother's questions and got up, and walked over to her mother’s side lifting up her arms signaling she wanted to be carried. Sana stayed still, the only one answering in Korean, "Can I stay here? I don't want to go home."

Internally Dahyun had to stifle a laugh, Sana wasn't dumb. She knew if Dahyun could understand she'd say it was okay if the girl stayed. 

Mina paused, "but it's lunchtime."

"I'll come to eat when Chaengie leaves," Sana said, hopping up on the piano still next to Dahyun. Mina locked eyes with Dahyun, silently asking if it was okay, Dahyun nodded in confirmation.

"Who's this?" Mina asked suddenly, motioning towards Tzuyu.

The said girl was to occupied on trying to master chopsticks to respond. 

"That's Tzuyu, my niece," Dahyun responded, patting the girl's head affectionately. Mina just nodded, not needing any more context than that. And Dahyun was grateful for that, she didn't want to answer any questions, at least for right now. 

"I'll be back in like a half-hour Sana, be on your best behavior." Mina warned, grabbing Momo's hand and taking her out of the room, not before leaving her with, "You play beautifully."

Dahyun just starred at where the woman had disappeared until a small stomach growl interrupted her thoughts, she turned to the girls, "Are you hungry?"

Tzuyu nodded yes, but Sana maintained her no. Another growl answered for Sana though, alerting Dahyun that she very dearly meant yes. Checking the time on her small grey lego watch that Tzuyu had given her for Christmas a few years back, she noticed it was almost afternoon. 

"How about Tzuyu I make you some lunch and Sana I bring you home for lunch, we can come play again if you want?" Dahyun offered. 

Sana shook her head adamantly, "I don't want to go home! Chaeng is home!"

"Chaeng?" Dahyun asked, sparing a look at Tzuyu as if the five-year-old would have any answers, "Chaeyoung?"

"She's mean." Sana pouted, "You're nice and pretty, can I stay here?"

Considering this for a second, Dahyun nodded. Leaving a quick note on the piano if Mina came back and saw that they were missing and helped lead the girls to her apartment, "how does an egg sound?"

"For lunch?" Sana asked, shock evident in her voice, "but that's breakfast food!"

Dahyun just put a finger over her mouth, "no one has to know."

Both girls grinned like they were the keepers of some huge secret, and nodded furiously. Dahyun just cooked the eggs and served it to them. Tzuyu, as poised as ever, took her time, much more patient than what she believed a five-year-old should be. Sana, well Sana was a different case, gobbling the egg down as soon as it was set down in front of her.

"Do you guys want some juice?"

"Orange please!" Tzuyu asked, hopping down from her chair and going over to Dahyun's tattered couch. Sana followed suit, and Dahyun just poured her a glass anyways. 

Handing both girls the cups, Tzuyu had another surprise for her when she stood up in front of Sana, "Wanna play?"

Sana spared a look at Dahyun before hesitantly nodding, and Tzuyu ran full force to grab her few toys she kept in Dahyun's bedroom. She just tapped away at her keyboard, working on some show music absentmindedly as she watched the kids play. 

A gentle knock on the door alerted Dahyun that Mina had found her note, she ran to the door and opened it, being greeted with the sight of Mina. Even though she was smiling, Dahyun could see she was slightly upset, her jaw was set and her lips curved downwards, but she kept her mouth shut. At least in front of the kids. 

Momo wasted no time running into the apartment without invitation, inserting herself into Tzuyu's and Sana's game. 

"Do you want to come in?" Dahyun asked, standing out of the way. Mina nodded and let herself in, "Sorry, I know you said you would feed Sana but Tzuyu got hungry so I just fed Sana as well."

"You didn't have to do that," Mina said, taking a seat in the kitchen.

Dahyun brushed her off, "I'm not going to eat in front of her."

"She's quite taken to you." Mina giggled, looking over to where the girls were playing. 

Dahyun's phone dinged, and she looked at it. Letting out a loud groan, "Are you free next Saturday?"

"Huh?"

"I need to bring a guest to my gig this weekend, but my half-sister doesn't want to go. She's going to watch Tzu." 

"I have no one to watch the girls."

"Jihyo can watch them if you want, she doesn't charge. She's a kindergarten teacher."

Mina looked like she considered it for a minute, before nodding, "okay."


	3. Chapter 3

"Thank you so much Ji, I was a bit nervous I was going to have to cancel the gig." Dahyun greeted, ushering the older woman inside, helping her take off her coat. Rushing around, trying to grab various pieces of sheet music she had left around, Jihyo could immediately tell Dahyun was frazzled beyond belief. 

Brushing a hand through her short hair, Jihyo just offered an assuring smile, "No problem, are you all set for tonight?"

Stuffing papers rapidly into the plastic protector sheets inside her black show binder, Dahyun nodded, "Yeah, I think."

"You got someone to go with you right?"

"Yeah my neighbor is coming, are you sure you don't mind watching her kids?"

Jihyo just smiled, "of course, you said they were good."

A bedroom door swinging open and tiny feet stomping down the hall alerted the step-siblings that Tzuyu had heard Jihyo arrive. She appeared, arms spread, running full force into Jihyo, a happy smile plastering her face. Jihyo just picked her up, tucking her on her hip and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "Chewy!"

"Auntie Jihyo!" Tzuyu cheered, "did you bring Bambi?"

Bambi, Jihyo's Yorkshire Terrier that Tzuyu absolutely adored. The pair would take naps together, watch whatever baby shark video Tzuyu was into, and even eat together. Tzuyu was absolutely infatuated with the dog. Neither Jihyo nor Dahyun had the heart to tell Tzuyu that the dog had passed away nearly four months ago, so they always just said he was away. Tzuyu never questioned it. 

"No not today, I'm sorry." Jihyo pouted, "but I'm here!"

"I got a new puppy toy! Do you want to see it?" Tzuyu asked excitedly. Dahyun had bought her a new toy earlier in the day after she saw the girl eyeing it on the store for nearly half an hour. It was a cute sight really, how Tzuyu would spare a longing glance at the stuffed dog, but wouldn't actually say anything or indicate that she wanted it. But when Dahyun approached it, picked it up and started talking about how much she liked it, Tzuyu was quick to agree. She acted like she put it back, but actually purchased it and gave it to Tzuyu on the walk home, the girl had been playing with it all afternoon. 

Jihyo nodded and Tzuyu wriggled out of her arms running into her room once again. A gentle knock on the door alerted them to Mina's arrival. Dahyun took the initiative to open the door, but was almost immediately floored by a body slamming into her legs. 

"Dahyunnie!" Sana cheered, gripping onto the woman. Putting a hand on the girl's back, Dahyun half-heartedly hugged back,growing at Jihyo's snickers in the background. Momo let herself in as well, not waiting to be invited in. 

Looking up, Dahyun finally locked eyes with Mina. The woman was wearing a simple black, but the way it caught her curves took it to a whole nother level of elegance. It clashed quite nicely with the white of Dahyun's dress. She ushered the woman inside, "Mina this is Jihyo, Jihyo meet Mina."

The women exchanged a greeting, and Dahyun nearly had a heart attack when she looked at the time. They were late. She grabbed the binder and started to grab her coat, "we gotta go."

"Okay." Mina agreed, turning to Jihyo once again, "um Sana is allergic to peanuts, so here is an epipen just in case, Momo is scared of the dark, and here is my cell number just in case."

Jihyo accepted the number and gave her a reassuring smile, "Okay, I deal with kids all the time so we will have a fun night."

Seemingly satisfied with that answer, "Sana, and Momo. Best behavior! I mean it!" And with that hanging in the air, Mina exited the apartment Dahyun followed suit. 

...

Mina looked so pretty holing a glass of champagne contained in a glass which was probably worth more than Dahyun's life. The gig was at some upper class businesses man's hotel, where a christmas party was underway. It had struck her as a bit odd that she was required to bring a date, but the man running the whole thing, Jungkook, seemed like he lived by the creed that it wasn't a party unless everyone was there. So the requirement for a plus one was probably an easy way to boost attendance numbers. Dahyun sat in a large room, playing on the grand piano situated in the middle, going through the motions she had so diligently worked on. But her attention wasn't on the music. 

It was her. 

Mina looked to be in her natural habitat, talking to a few obviously wealthy older men. But the way she held herself, and the way she sipped on the champagne, it made her blend in seamlessly. 

The gentle vibrations produced from the piano gave Dahyun's fingers that familiar tingling numbing sensation, and her knuckles grew tired from striking the keys but she kept playing. The feeling was intoxicating, letting her eyes float over the score vaguely connecting it to her hands, as they seemed to dance on their own. She almost was grateful for her mother to force her into piano lessons at such a young age. 

Eventually her set was over and another boy moved in, she had met him vaguely once beforehand he was nice enough. What was his name again? Yoongi? Dahyun had no idea. 

She made her way over to where Mina was standing, and made her entrance known as to not startle the woman. She just stood next to her, letting Mina feel the weight of her presence. Mina just turned to her with a smile dismissing herself from the conversation, "are you all set?"

"Yeah I just wrapped up, we can go home now if you want, I don't want to keep you out too late."

Mina just shook her head, motioning for Dahyun to follow her, "I found something I want to show you."

...

Jihyo had to catch herself from falling asleep, again. It wasn't her fault, children's movies always seemed to put her to sleep, Moana was no exception. 

After a rather eventful dinner where Momo ate way more than Jihyo thought possible for a six year old the three girls went off to play. But one fight between Sana and Tzuyu later Jihyo sat the girls down and started watching a movie to relieve any tension. 

The plan worked, and the girls were happily singing along, no bad feelings lingering in the air. Momo fell in love with the pig (Jihyo totally forgot what it's name was) and Sana said the coconut looked like her Mom's girlfriend's hair. Both twins laughed wildly at that, even if Tzuyu and Jihyo were puzzled. 

Finally the movie ended and Jihyo stretched her aching limbs, standing up to turn off the TV. She looked back at the couch as both Tzuyu and Sana were passed out asleep, Tzuyu clutching onto the other girl's arm while Sana was laid up against the arm rest. Momo was still wide awake, just watching Jihyo actions with curious eyes. 

"What?"

Momo just giggled, "Nothing, I'm hungry."

Shaking her head Jihyo helped the girl off the couch without waking the other too. "Do you want popcorn?"

Momo nodded her head, practically humming with excitement. The pair went into the kitchen, grabbing one of Dahyun's bags and threw it into the microwave. After a few painful minutes, it was all set and Momo was ready to dig in. And so she did, popping open the bag and spilling the kernels all over the floor. 

Jihyo just groaned at the mess, but raised an eyebrow at how Momo almost immediately shrunk into herself, dropping to her knees to pick up the kernels and whispering multiple, "I'm sorry!"

She just got down with the girl and helped clean up, assuring the girl it was just an accident and it was okay. Momo still seemed off until Jihyo put on another movie and Momo was munching on a newly popped bag. 

...

"How did you find this place?" Dahyun gasped, looking around.

Escaping from the loud chatter of the party, Mina led Dahyun down a few halls into a closed off indoor pool. In the middle of the room laid a pool, but the water shined with blue LED lights, illuminating the room in a deep blue hue. 

"I was just looking around after you started playing, found myself here." Mina responded, walking around the room, taking off her shoes. They were awfully uncomfortable, much different than the usual sneakers she dawned constantly. The floor was damp and uneven, but Dahyun found herself doing the same. 

Dahyun watched as Mina inspected the room, letting her hands hang by her sides, eyes closed taking in the gentle sounds of the water contrasting with the silence of the room. She opened in her eyes and looked at the pool, "it's pretty, isn't it?"

Dahyun hummed in agreement, but she wasn't looking at the pool.

...

One relatively uneventful cab ride later and they were both outside Dahyun's apartment once again. Dahyun let them inside and Momo immediately ran over, engulfing Mina in a huge hug, "Mommy!"

Mina hugged back, and looked around, nearly cooing at the sight of Sana passed out of the couch. She went over and picked the girl up, careful not to wake her up. She turned to Jihyo, "Did they give you any problems?"

"No they were really good." Jihyo replied, smiling. 

Mina just nodded, and Dahyun offered to walk her the whole two steps to her apartment. But the door swung open before Mina could even put her key in, startling both her and Sana who she still held in her arms.

Chaeyoung was staring back at Mina, "Where were you?"

"I thought you were working tonight?" Mina responded timidly. 

"Where were you."

Mina glanced back at Dahyun, and to Momo and Sana who both looked scared, "Can we please not do this here?"

Chaeyoung reached forwards and gripped Mina's forearm, bringing her closer, "where were you."

"I went out to Dahyun's gig!"

"And you didn't tell me?" Chaeyoung growled, "What if something happened? You know your Korean isn't that good, someone could've taken advantage of you!"

Her grip tightened and Mina let out a little whimper, doing her best not to show how hard Chaeyoung was actually squeezing. 

But a pale hand separated Chaeyoung's hand from Mina's wrist. The couple turned to see Dahyun staring daggers at Chaeyoung, "Don't touch her. She was just doing me a favor. She was fine."

Chaeyoung just scoffed, and opened the door more, "Get inside Mina."

Dahyun gave Mina a look, telling her not to go. But Mina just turned away, put her head down and walked inside. Leaving Dahyun once again standing in front of Apartment 2A, looking at the closed door. 

_ _

  
  



	4. Chapter 4

"Make sure to eat a lot, Okay?" Nayeon reassured, pushing plates of almost overflowing with tteokbokki to the twins, who just stared at the food with wide eyes, "You two are still growing, You need your strength."

Nodding furiously, they immediately dug in, getting sauce all over their clothes and faces much to Mina's dismay and the delight of Nayeon. The trio had ventured out for their weekly Sunday night dinner at the cart Nayeon ran, and like always Nayeon always made sure to feed the girls an almost excessive amount of food. Even when Mina refused, saying they could have treatment like everyone else, Nayeon always piled food on and never charged them extra. 

"How's business?" Mina asked, looking around and seeing that even though it was winter, there was still a good myriad of people eating. 

"It's good, I guess the food draws them back." Nayeon flipped her hair arrogantly, flashing Mina a smile, "I'm just that good."

The younger one of the two just giggled, waving off Nayeon's behavior, starting to eat her own plate. Sana turned to her with a big smile on her face, red sauce smeered everywhere. Mina sighed and grabbed a napkin, trying to hold the girl still enough to wipe off the sauce. 

"What happened to your wrist?" Nayeon's voice broke through.

"Huh?" Mina turned, momentarily taking her attention off of Sana and looked down at her wrist. Her cardigan had ridden down and the hand shaped bruise that started forming the night prior was on full display. She just brought it back up and tried to clean Momo's face, "Oh nothing, I probably just banged it."

"It looks hand shaped-"

"Chaengie was just pulling mommy in so she could talk to her better." Momo responded matter-of-factly. 

Mina felt like she was going to die of embarrassment, her face glowing bright red.

"Chaengie? Is that the midget you come here with?" Nayeon questioned, crossing her arms and leaning back against the cart, staring down Mina. 

"Yeah it's okay, really." Mina tried to assure, feeling increasingly anxious with the way the conversation was going. She just stared back with big eyes, silently wishing for something to happen to break the tension. 

"Sana!" A small voice called, and Mina saw a small mass moving to her daughter. Sana whipped around as well, and immediately frowned at the sight. Tzuyu was smiling up at Sana, holding a rather crudely drawn picture of what Nayeon could only describe as an insult to art. It was bad by five year old standards. It had two sorts of creatures drawn in the middle surrounded by small hearts. Tzuyu looked proud of it though, "I drew this for you!"

"What even is that?" Sana asked, clearly disinterested, chewing on a piece of tteokbokki.

Tzuyu gave her a look, clearly surprised she couldn't make out what the image was, "look it's a puppy and a hamster and they are having te-"

"Dahyun!" Sana cheered, a peppy attitude immediately back as she ran towards the older woman approaching the cart, wrapping her up in a tight hug. Dahyun looked over to where Tzuyu looked heartbroken and had to bite back a laugh.

"Hi Sana."

"You look really pretty today." Sana told her. Dahyun looked down at what she was wearing, old sweatpants and an oversized crewneck sweatshirt she got in college. Yeah. Okay. 

"Thank you, is your mommy here?" Dahyun asked. 

"Mhmm! She's over there!" Sana pointed back to where Mina was sitting, still trying to wipe a wriggling Momo's face. 

"Thanks buddy." Dahyun ruffled Sana's hair, walking over to the table. 

Leaving Sana standing there, touching where Dahyun had roughed up her hair, "She called me buddy!"

After much effort, Mina was finally able to get the sauce off of Momo's face, which in hindsight probably was a pointless battle because two seconds later her face was covered once again. She heard Dahyun take a seat next to her, and turned just in time to see Dahyun sneak a piece into her mouth, "Hey!"

Feigning innocence, Dahyun looked around, "Huh?"

"You want a plate?" Nayeon asked, getting up from her resting position and standing in front of her. Dahyun just shook her head

"A few fishcakes please, Tzuyu and I are on our way to the movies." She responded, watching with a smile as Tzuyu tried to show Sana (who was not interested at all) her puppy toy that she carried everywhere like the twins hadn't seen it before. 

Nayeon quickly grabbed the two fishcakes and handed them to Dahyun who stood up, and reached her hand out to Tzuyu who took it. "Bye guys"

Sana waved adamantly, before turning back to Momo, "she's so pretty?"

Cheeks still full of food, Momo raised an eyebrow, "Tzuyu?"

"No stupid, Dahyun."

Mina had to choke back a laugh, Nayeon didn't even bother and laughed out loud earning a serious glare from Sana. 

"I'm closing up after you guys finish, do you want me to walk you home?" Nayeon offered.

"You don't have to-"

"I'm walking the same way anyways," Nayeon shrugged, starting to pack up. 

She waited patiently until they were done and tucked the cart away, and the group walked the whole five minutes to the apartment. Nayeon quickly learned how hard it was to actually travel with the kids, they were both hyperactive and she felt Mina's stress of trying to keep them together and not bouncing off the walls. But they managed and Nayeon gripped onto Momo's hand as they crossed the street, and helped her up onto the sidewalk. And she listened to Sana's babbles about some frog she found days prior. When they finally arrived Nayeon offered to walk them up to their apartment, but Mina declined.

Nayeon waited until she saw them enter the complex, before walking back the same way she came. 

...

"Momo, don't hang off the bar." Mina scolded and Momo quickly listened, releasing the bar she was currently gripping and letting her feet hand from underneath her. Mina put the key in before opening the door, letting the girls in before going in herself, but all three of them stopped. 

Chaeyoung was home, and on the couch with some other woman straddling her lap, both of their shirts off and deep in some make out session. Mina immediately covered both Momo and Sana's eyes with her hand, "excuse me?"

The women on the couch whipped their heads around and Mina faintly heard the woman let out a curse and grab her stuff before pushing past Mina and running out of the apartment. Chaeyoung just chuckled and laid back on the couch, arms stretched out on the back.

"Momo, Sana. Go to your room."

"Mommy-"

"Go."

The twins quickly ran off and Mina didn't say a word until they heard their door click shut. She turned to Chaeyoung, "who the hell was that?"

"Jeongyeon, she works in my office-"

"I don't care who the fuck she is! Why is she in my apartment, making out with my girlfriend?"

Chaeyoung just fished a cigarette from her pocket, sliding her shirt on. She let the stick rest in between her teeth before lighting it and taking a drag, "We weren't just making out."

Mina's facial expression darkened, "What?"

"I mean honestly this is your fault Mina." Chaeyoung responded so nonchalantly it made Mina's skin crawl, as she opened a window and exhaled a drag out of it, "You've been holding out on me lately. I have to get satisfied somehow."

"You- I-." Mina stuttered out, rage completely taking over her mind. She stormed past her grabbing a bag out of her closet and stuffed the closest clothes into it. She then stormed into the girl's room and did the same, "We're leaving. Let's go."

Sana and Momo didn't question it, they just grabbed their favorite stuffed animal and followed Mina. 

"Mina wait," Chaeyoung called, putting out her cigarettes, "Are you really going to leave?"

"I can't do this anymore Chaeyoung." 

Mina gripped the doorknob and went to walk out. 

"If you leave, I'll kill myself."

Mina stopped, "what."

"If you leave, I'll kill myself."

Mina let go of the doorknob, turning around to face Chaeyoung. The deadly serious face on the girl scared her to her core. 

"Give me the bag Mina." Chaeyoung demanded, grabbing it out of her hands, "Don't try to leave me again."

...

"Dahyunnie! Wake up!" Tzuyu giggled, poking Dahyun's sleeping face once again. The movie had ended, yet Dahyun was still passed out, mouth open. She tried her best to sit through it, but there are only so many animated dogs one can watch before falling completely asleep. 

"I'm awake!" Dahyun exclaimed, sitting up lightning fast, much to Tzuyu's enjoyment. The girl just stood up and grabbed Dahyun's hand pulling her out of the theater. 

She put Tzuyu on her shoulders, letting the girl enjoy the view of being tall, even though Dahyun had the inkling suspicious she was going to tower over her one day.

The pair walked home as Tzuyu blabbered on about the movie, a content smile over both of their faces. Dahyun's phone buzzed with a text from Jihyo saying their sister had actually checked into rehab, a sentence Dahyun had heard before. But she'd keep Tzuyu as long as needed, it wasn't a big deal. 

They were family after all.

  
  



	5. Chapter 5

_knock knock knock_

Mina slowly opened an eye, immediately frazzled from being dragged out of her sleep. She felt lethargic and heavy, taking in her surroundings. Sana's head rested on her right arm, while Momo was contently curled into their side snoring loudly. She took a moment to remember exactly why she was laying in Sana's bed instead of her own.

The twins had been freaked out because of a thunderstorm, and asked Mina to sleep in there. She agreed, partially because she didn't want to sleep next to Chaeyoung and partially because she wanted to comfort her children.

Taking a moment to examine the sleeping faces of the twins, thanking whoever up above that they weren't as hyperactive in their sleep as when they were when they were awake.

_Knock Knock Knock_

Oh yeah, Mina had nearly forgotten about that. Slithering her way out of the pile of tiny limbs, she sleepily stumbled towards the door and opened it, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes with the back of her head. Not even caring that her hair was tied into a horrendously messy bun and she was still in her four sizes to big night shirt and shorts that barely poked out from underneath, completing the look was her barefeet, "Nayeon?"

Nayeon just flashed a bright smile, holding a paper bag out, "I brought breakfast."

"Thank you," Mina started, sparing a look back into the apartment, "The twins and my girlfriend are still sleeping."

Face falling a bit at the rejection, Nayeon just brushed it off, holding the bag out in front of her, "Can I leave you with this then?"

Mina hesitated, "How'd you even know where I live?"

"I was going to annoy Dahyun, You're the only person next to her, and she said you were next door."

"Fair, but really I can't acce-"

Nayeon suddenly threw the bag into Mina's hands, the woman struggling to catch it, "no take backsies!" And closed Mina's door, leaving the other girl standing there shocked. She opened the door but Nayeon was nowhere in sight, she sighed and closed it once again.

"Mommy?"

Mina turned around to see Momo standing there, looking sleepy clutching her stuffed pig in her hands. She gave the girl a smile, "yeah baby?"

"Who was that?"

"That was just Nayeon, you know the cart lady?" She waited until Momo nodded, remembering, "she brought us breakfast."

"Why?"

"No idea, do you want to help me set this up?" Mina asked, stoking Momo's hair. The girl nodded excitedly, taking the bag from Mina's hand and placing it on the table, climbing up on a chair to help reach. They opened the bag and saw a plethora of small containers with prepared food. Momo helped Mina laye them out and take out plates and utensils, all that there was left to do was wait for Sana and Chaeyoung to wake up.

Mina had put on one of Momo's cartoons, the six year old really liked, she had no idea what it was or what it was about, but as long as Momo liked it she would sit through it. She sat with Momo curled into her side, stroking her hair as they waited for the others. Sure enough, tiny feet pittering from the SaMo room and a body plopping onto Mina alerted them to the fact Sana was up for the day.

When Chaeyoung's footsteps echoed through the apartment, they all went to the table and started eating. Well Momo ran as fast as she could and started eating, the rest followed.

Mina could feel Chaeyoung staring at the dark bruise on her wrist, and tried to hide it from sight. Chaeyoung just leaned over and laid a kiss on Mina's forehead, "I'm sorry I hurt you, you just make me so mad sometimes."

"I know."

"I love you Mina."

"I love you too." Mina looked at the time and sighed, pointing at the twins, "alright you two, go get dressed you need to go to school."

Sana let out a whine, switching to japanese, "Can't I just stay home?"

"What did we say about speaking Japanese, Sana" Chaeyoung chimed in, giving the girl a look to which the girl shrunk in on herself.

The three japanese girls knew the rule very well. No one was to speak Jaoanese in the house, under any circumstance. Chaeyoung claimed it was to help Mina's (and Momo's, Sana had a good grasp on both languages while her twin had some trouble) language skills. But they all knew the reality of the rule: Chaeyoung didn't speak Japanese and wanted to know what they were saying.

"Go get dressed." Mina repeated, and even though Sana pouted she followed instructions. Mina got up and started packing up the dishes, Chaeyoung helped as well.

"Where did these come from? This isn't our tubberware." Chaeyoung asked, examining the containers.

"Oh yeah, one of my friends dropped off breakfast this morning." Mina shrugged, "I don't know why."

"Let me see your phone." Chaeyoung suddenly demanded, the caring attitude from earlier gone.

"Huh?"

"Your phone. Give it to me. I want to see what you and the 'friend' are saying."

"I don't even have her number Chae."

"Yet she knows where we live?"

"Chaeng please, don't start, it's early."

"Phone. Now."

Mina sighed and fished the phone off the charger on the kitchen table and handed it to Chaeyoung. The girl typed in Mina's passcode and started going through messages, apps, and photos. Everytime she would see something even slightly suspicious she would demand an explanation, leaving Mina completely exhausted. Momo and Sana came back, all ready for school when Chaeyoung finally stopped.

"Are you two ready?" Mina asked, forcing a smile onto her face, helping Momo tie her shoes. The girl insisted on shoes with laces because Sana got some, however Sana knew how to tie her shoes, Momo didn't.

Momo nodded, and Sana did as well. Mina helped them put their bags on and walked them out of the apartment, stopping in the doorway when she heard a, "Mina."

She turned around to see Chaeyoung still holding the phone in her hands, "let's talk when you get back."

...

"Bye TzuTzu!" Dahyun cheered, watching as the girl marched away with Jihyo to her first day of kindergarten. She felt a bit bad for making the girl start a whole new school in the middle of the year, but it had to be done. She was placed into Jihyo's class and Dahyun even surprised her with a new backpack. It was brown, fluffy, and had a puppy face and ears attached to it. Tzuyu naturally loved it.

"Bye Dahyunnie!" Tzuyu called from the other side of the hallway, cupping both of her tiny hands around her mouth, "I love you!"

"I love you too! Be on your best behavior!" Dahyun called back, waving as Tzuyu turned the corner out of sight. She grinned like a mad man, going to walk back into her apartment when she heard the all to familiar yells coming from next door.

"Chaeyoung stop!"

"Shut the fuck up! Don't tell me what to do!"  
But this time she didn't have to knock, the door flew open and a body flew harshly onto the floor.  
"I don't want to see your ugly ass face until the kids get home or else."  
And with that the door slammed shut, leaving Dahyun in the hallway, with Mina's pajama clad body laying on the floor. The woman slowly rose to her feet and rubbed the arm she had landed on, going to knock on the door to be let back in.

Dahyun was met with Mina's face, a smile forced on that didn't just didn't meet her eyes. Eyes rimmed with red. It didn't take a genius to know what was going on. Again.

"What's wrong? I can hear screaming." Dahyun asked, keeping her voice calm and soft.

"Nothing's wrong-"  
Dahyun gave Mina a look, and she could see Mina's facade slowly start to crumble.  
"She just needs time to calm down, she's mad at me."

Taking in Mina's appearance, Dahyun just opened her door, "Do you want to come in for a while? You can borrow some clothes."

Mina accepted, following Dahyun inside, because it was really her only option. She waited as Dahyun handed her a stack of clothes and led her to the bathroom. She changed and came back out to hear piano music filling the apartment. She took the time to truly look around the apartment. There seemed to be an infestation of sheet music on the kitchen table and counters. And toys, which Mina assumed were Tzuyu's, covered the floor left discarded, along with an alarming amount of nurf gun darts.

Dahyun was playing the keyboard in the livingroom, a serene expression covering her face as she typed away at the keys creating an elaborate melody. Mina watched as she swayed her head to the music and moved her mouth ever so slightly to keep the tempo, furrowing her brows when she had to stop and figure out a note. Noticing Mina's presence once again, she stopped, turning towards the woman, "All set?"

Nodding, Mina took a seat in the livingroom on Dahyun's shredded up couch, "Why'd you learn the piano?"

"My mom forced me." Dahyun chuckled, "I was a child prodigy, and won a lot of competitions, but I only play at a few gigs now a days."

"Like the one we went to?"

"Yeah, I have a lot of contest money saved up so i'm set, however it's nice to play every so often."  
Mina could agree with that.  
"Why'd you come to Korea?"

"My parents kicked me out when I got pregnant with the twins, so I decided to come here and start a new life."

"Do you miss Japan?"

"All the time, but it's not that bad."

The girls fell into a comfortable silence and Dahyun started playing once again, before her eyes wandered over to Mina's, body on the couch. Focusing on the purple bruise covering her wrist. She stopped playing. Mina looked at her expectantly.

Dahyun just looked Mina in the eyes, "you need to leave her."

* * *

_So are we on Team Mihyun or Team MiNayeon ladies and gentlemen?_

_Questions :_

_What do you think of Nayeon making sure Mina is eating, and do you think she is really giving her food or checking on her?_

_is Tzuyu and Dahyun getting too codependent?_

_will Mina listen to Dahyun?_

_~taeroj_


	6. Chapter 6

"You need to leave her."

As soon as the words floated out of Dahyun's mouth, she watched as they entered Mina's ears, registered on her face, and saw as she struggled to formulate a response. But she was quiet and waited for Mina to respond. The woman opened and closed her mouth a few times, before finally finding her voice, “What?”

"I'm serious, you need to leave." Dahyun restated, focusing her attention on the bruise on Mina's wrist.

Following her gaze, Mina covered it with her other hand. Starting to feel anxious by the sudden interrogation, she started fidgeting, "I love her."

"Does she love you?"

"Yes." But Mina didn't sound sure, and Dahyun could tell. She could watch as memories played in Mina's mind, her face becoming more and more sour.

Dahyun just started playing once again, turning her back to let Mina think in relative privacy, "If she really loved you, she wouldn't hurt you."

"She doesn't hurt me."

"Yeah?" Dahyun cocked an eyebrow, "How about that bruise on your wrist, or the one that was on you face the first day we met, or what about the one on Sana's face? Or how about how she threw you out this morning. She didn't do that?"

Mina went quiet.

"You're a mom Mina, you need to do what's right for the girls. You can crash here if you need a place, or even Nayeon is looking for a new roommate if you really need somewhere." Dahyun offered. She didn't get a response, not that she expected one. She just played as Mina sat there and thought. They sat there for what felt like hours until Mina's soft voice broke the silence.

"I-I can't."

"Why?"

"I'm scared."

Dahyun turned to see Mina staring back at her, with big vulnerable eyes. Dahyun just nodded in understanding, trying to come up with a good response, "It's normal, just know there is another way-"

She had more to say, but the front door bursting open and tiny legs stomping through the house interrupted her. She heard a backpack get thrown down and Tzuyu's bedroom damn slam shut. Then a multitude of tiny knocks resonated off the front door.

Dahyun got up and opened the door, nearly being run over by Momo and Sana, running to Tzuyu's shut door. Sana pounded hard, almost crying, "I'm sorry Tzuyu!"

Exchanging a look, Mina and Dahyun quickly went into action. Turning to the twins who were still knocking on the door. Mina crouched down, "what happened?"

"Tzuyu kissed Sana!" Momo exclaimed dramatically, "So Sana punched Tzuyu in the face!"

Letting her head hang, Mina took a deep breath in, "why would you punch her in the face?"

"Because she gave me cooties!" Sana explained like it justified all her actions, "Don't you punch people who kiss you?"

"Yeah." Momo chimed in, "That's what you and Chaengie do."

Mina's face dropped, and she looked up at Dahyun who just gave her a sad look. She collected herself, "No. We don't hit people. At all."

"But-"

"Not buts- Momo don't you dare snicker at that." Mina chastised, "now when Dahyun opens that door you are going to apologize to Tzuyu."

Frowning and letting fat tears roll down her cheeks, she nodded. Mina just gave her an affectionate pinch on the cheek, and wiped away the tears before standing up and putting her hand on Sana's back for support.

Dahyun knocked on the door, "Tzu it's Dahyun. Can I come in?"

"No!"

"Okay, I'm coming in." Dahyun responded, opening the door. Tzuyu was sitting on her bed, holding her stuffed dog in between her fingers.

As soon as the door was open, Sana flew into the room, "I'm sorry!"

Tzuyu looked up at Dahyun, and she saw the bruise starting to form on her right cheek and the small cut on her lip. Damn, how hard did Sana punch her?

"Why don't you want to kiss me?" Tzuyu whined, standing up.

"Because I don't like you, I like someone else!"

"Who?"

"I can't tell you." Sana deadpanned, "but I'm sorry I punched you."

Tzuyu nodded in understanding, wrapping Sana into a hug. Dahyun had to stiffle a chuckle, only kids would make up immediately like that, she turned to look at Mina who was doing the same thing, "Tzuyu do you have homework?" The girl nodded, "We can play after we do that, okay?"

Pouting, Tzuyu nodded and proceeded to grab her backpack and set up the homework on the kitchen table.

Dahyun turned her attention, "You guys can stay here if you want."

"No, we'll get out of your hair." Mina assured, placing a hand on the girls shoulders and starting to usher them towards the front door.

"Mina." Dahyun called out, just before she could leave, "Please think about what I said, if not for you, for them."

Mina nodded, and left taking Sana and Momo with her. Turning towards Tzuyu, who had now set up her work on the kitchen table, and grabbed an ice pack from the freezer, wrapped it in a towel, and handed it to the girl, "Hold this on your face."

Tzuyu did as instructed, wincing a bit as the cold pack touched her face. But after a moment she relaxed, "Thank you Hyunnie."

"Don't go kissing people, alright?" Dahyun teased, "You're too young for me to be swatting people away yet."

Pouting, Tzuyu nodded, "She was just so pretty. So on the bus I leaned in and gave her a big kiss, but she punched me."

Looking at the heartbroken expression on the five year old's face made Dahyun want to laugh once again, but she kept it to her self and ruffled the girl's hair turning her attention to the papers, "so math?"

"Math. Ew."

...

Nayeon knew how creepy she probably looked, eyeing the family a few tables away. Even though it was the dead of winter, they seemed prefectly content eating under the tent as snow fell piling up on the sides of it. They joked around and Nayeon felt herself smiling while watching them. She turned to see the paper bag full of the tubberware containers she had lent earlier in the day. Honestly she hadn't expected to see them again so soon. But Mina returned them, and sat down at a table ordering some food for herself and the girls.

But things changed when the midgit arrived, she could tell as soon as she made her precense known by whipping her car keys at Mina. The girls went quiet, and so did the mother. The mushroom head just ordered a bottle of Soju and ate with the girls, but Nayeon could see how she got increasingly more rowdy and more aggressive everytime she tipped back the glass.

She could see Mina's nervous smile, when Chaeyoung would reach for another glass, or when the girls started making just a little bit more noise. Before any of them knew it Chaeyoung was completely wasted in the middle of her tent, and was starting to get more touchy.

Then Momo asked a question to Mina, and with the very limited amount of Japanese Nayeon knew she could pick up, "when" and "home". Mina answered back and Momo just nodded in understanding. But there was something on Chaeyoung's face that changed, and she suddenly stood up, grabbing Mina's face.

"What the hell did I say about that!" She growled, and Mina just tried to remove her grip.

"You're drunk Chae."

"So what?" Chaeyoung chuckled, pushing Mina's face away a little too roughly, she turned her attention to Momo, a deadly look on her face, "You. This is your second time today."

She took a step forwards but now Mina was standing up, in-between the two, "Chae don't do this here please"

"Get out of the way, obviously you don't know how to raise your kids right Mina."

"Chaeyoung."

"Move."

But one look at Momo's terrified face, and Mina stood her ground. But Chaeyoung reached back and slapped her across the face, the force of it knocking her back. She grabbed Mina's collar, "Who the fuck's shirt is this huh? Are you cheating on me? you whore."

The twins were crying by now, Sana tugging on Chaeyoung's pants trying to get her away from Mina. The woman just pushed the girl away focusing her attention on Mina, "answer me."

"N-no." Mina whimpered out, Chaeyoung raised her hand again but was suddenly pushed back away from Mina. She turned to Nayeon, who was staring daggers at her. Nayeon pushed again, a bit more force this time.

"Get out of my tent." Nayeon growled, not backing down. She was thankful that the tent didn't have any other occupants, because if she had to fight Chaeyoung, well it would be bad for business. "Now."

She didn't expect Chaeyoung to give up so easily, but she just spat and walked away. She could see right through the woman, she wanted to feel powerful but the moment someone who was capable threatened her, she retreated. Disgusting.

After Chaeyoung was gone, Nayeon turned to the girls. The twins were obviously scared and crying while Mina tried to calm them down, being quite frazzled herself. Thinking fast, Nayeon grabbed two bungeo-ppang and handed it to the girls, they calmed down a bit but Nayeon could still see that they were shaken up.

Motioning for Mina to come to a separate corner, Mina followed. Nayeon didn't know what to do other than give the Japanese girl her phone, "Call the police Mina."

"I can't."

"If you don't, I will." Even though Nayeon felt horrible giving her the ultimatum, she knew she had to. She looked at the side of Mina's face "You're hurt."

Taking a look back at the girls, Mina sighed, "I don't have anywhere to stay. She went back to the apartment."

"Stay at my place tonight, is the apartment under your name?"

"Yes."

"Then if you make the report, you can kick her out."

Mina looked down at the phone, and then back at her kids who were still crying, and with trembling fingers dialed the number for the police.

"9/11 what's your emergency?"

"I need help."

...

"Dahyunnie, wake up." Tzuyu whispered, poking Dahyun's side. Dahyun just groaned in response, flipping onto her side throwing a pillow across her face, "Auntie Dahyun!"

Slowly opening an eye, she looked over at Tzuyu who was standing at the side of her bed, still dressed in Pajamas, holding her stuffed dog, "yeah TzuTzu?"

"I'm scared, there's a monster in my room." Tzuyu whispered.

Dahyung just groaned, "there's no monster Tzu."

"Can I sleep in here with you?"

Dahyun just pushed over and made room for Tzuyu. Tzuyu took no time climbing in, and curling into her side, within minutes Dahyun heard Tzuyu's breath get deep and even and the girl was fast asleep. She heard her phone buzz, and she opened it, squinting her eyes at the blinding light.

Nayeon

Mina's at my place, can you grab some of her and the twins clothes? Her keypad number is 3276, Chaeyoung leaves at 10:30. Call me in the morning and I will explain what's going on

[12:43am]

Nayeon

Oh and tell Tzuyu I said hi, love that kid :)

[12:43]

Dahyun just let the phone fall to the bed, closing her eyes a smile on her lips.

Mina took her advice.

y'all think this is the end of Chaeyoung, ha this is only the begining. 

but we'll see less of her from now on, and yeah we will find out more of their relationship in the coming chapters 

oh and do you guys like the new poster + background this is my first time ordering and I think it came out beautifully

the banner to the shop is in the forward and I can give you the link if any of you want it

questions :

\- who does Sana like (but let's be real, we all know)

\- do you think Nayeon or Dahyun influenced Mina's decision more

\- is this a good decision for Mina?

  
  
  


~taeroj

  
  



	7. Chapter 7

"Let's get this bread!"

"Jihyo we're literally just grabbing some clothes for them." Dahyun deadpanned, giving her step-sister a look. She had called the older woman earlier after not really wanting to go into Mina's apartment alone, Jihyo came during her lunch break so here they were standing in front of the door.

A quick call from Nayeon in the morning explained what had happened the night before, and Dahyun was quick to agree on grabbing some clothes. She had received a specific list.

_ 1) clothes for everyone _

Okay reasonable

_ 2) Momo's racoon stuffie _

Again, reasonable

_ 3) Mina's immigration papers + twins birth certificates _

Okay, important stuff

_ 4) Sana's pet fish _

Okay. What? The phone was taken from Nayeon's hand and Sana's voice had filled the phone, crying about how her fish would die, so Dahyun agreed to get the fish. She didn't even know how she was going to get it, but that was a problem for later.

So now it was 11 o'clock meaning Chaeyoung should be out of the apartment and the Kim-Park sisters can start their ninja operation.

Getting inside wasn't a problem, she just used the keypad and the number Nayeon had texted her. And the door opened, they were in.

"Ji grab the fish and papers and I'll grab the clothes and racoon," Dahyun instructed

"Why are you whispering?"

"I don't know!"

The sisters separated and started venturing around the house. Honestly Dahyun was quite surprised at how clean the house was, they had twice children but compared to her own Mina's home was immaculately clean. It was on a different level that Dahyun couldn't even begin to comprehend.

She broke off into the twins bedroom first, still maintaining the cleanliness of the house on Sana's side, while looking like a tornado hit it on Momo's side. It was so telling of their personalities that Dahyun had to choke down a laugh. Using the black duffel bag she came armed with she started packing clothes into the bag, trying to grab as many as she could. Then set her sights on the fluffy racoon plush sitting atop Momo's bed, she placed it in the duffle bag as well.

Rounding back to the kitchen Jihyo held a fish bowl in one hand and the papers in the other. "You ready?"

"Yup."

The pair exited the apartment, and started to walk down the narrow hallway of the apartment complex when a familiar face stopped them.

Chaeyoung stopped and let her eyes trail on the bags, and the fish. She let out a little scoff, "Of course."

Dahyun could feel Jihyo grip onto her wrist, tethering her away from flying off the edge. She felt the familiar feeling of anger start to bubble inside her as the woman in front of her. Chaeyoung just opened the door to her apartment, "Don't unpack those bags. She'll be back."

And with those parting words the door to apartment 2A slammed shut. Shaking her head Dahyun gripped the bag tighter and started marching away, Jihyo hot on her tails.

But Jihyo didn't expect Dahyun to suddenly stop as soon as they got outside, so she ran full force into her. Knocking the fish bowl onto the ground.

"Oh shit."

...

"It looks the same right?" Dahyun asked.

Mina, Nayeon, Jihyo, and Dahyun all stood staring at a new fish swimming around happily in the bowl. After Mr.Goldie's fall he never got back into water (truth be told Jihyo and Dahyun couldn't find where he landed until it was too late), so one trip to the pet store later an almost identical fish swam in his place.

The door to Nayeon's apartment swung open and tiny feet pittered inside, before they sped up and slammed into Dahyun's side, "Dahyun!"

Dahyun looked down to Sana hugging her leg tightly, a huge smile on her face, "Did you bring him?"

Faking forgetfulness, Dahyun tapped a finger on her chin, "Who?"

"Araiguma!" Momo piped in, looking around excitedly. Dahyun nodded and motioned to the bag on the floor, which Momo quickly dug into retrieving the stuffed racoon and snuggling her face into it.

Sana was not looking as pleased, she pouted, "Mr.Goldie? Did you grab him?"

"Oh that's who you mean, of course!" Dahyun cheered, hoping the girl wouldn't notice. She moved out of the way so the girl could see the bowl, and to nobody's surprise she immediately crowded the bowl looking in.

"This isn't Mr.Goldie."

The adults sent a panicked look towards each other.

"He had a black spot on his tail, this imposter doesn't." Sana rationed, turning around.

"Well, Sana, you see- Mr.Goldie- He, He um, moved to the ocean." Dahyun answered, elbowing Jihyo in the ribs as she snickered, "he wanted to move there so we let him, but he left his friend."

Nodding, Sana seemed to accept that answer, turning her attention back to the bowl, tapping on it and cooing.

"I should probably head out and pick up Tzuyu." Dahyun announced once the potential disaster had been averted.

"We were just going to the park, maybe you'd like to join us?" Mina offered, flashing a smile.

"That sounds good." Dahyun quipped, "Ji?"

"Sounds good to me."

...

"Yah! Chou Tzuyu!" Mina squealed, feeling snow slither down her jacket. She turned around and the five year old just gave her innocent eyes before running away as fast as she could. Mina let out a loud chuckle, matching Dahyun's next to her, "you're raising a demon."

"I know, isn't it lovely?" Dahyun shot back, a playful smile on her face, "thank you by the way."

"For what?"

"Listening to me."

"I need to do what's right for them." Mina said, looking over to where the kids were playing in the snow. Nayeon and Jihyo had taken to playing tag with the kids, while Dahyun and Mina stayed back and watched. Momo was fully invested in the game of tag, running as fast as her legs would carry her after Jihyo even though she had no chance of catching her. Tzuyu seemed to be more interested in catching Sana's attention, purposely pushing her too hard or accidentally tripping her (Dahyun made a mental note to talk to her about that later). The flattery seemed to only get Sana more angry as she stomped away from her, and the cycle would repeat, "Why do you have Tzuyu? If you don't mind me asking."

"Her mom, my sister, she's an addict. I've been taking care of her off and on for years now."

"You're doing a good job."

"Thank you."

Dahyun looked up at the red and pink hues that the setting sun painted over the sky, drowning everything in a soft pink tint, "It's pretty."

"It is."

But Dahyun turned her head and saw that Mina wasn't paying any attention to the sunset, she followed her gaze to see it fixated on one person. She was laughing and getting dragged down by Momo and Jihyo.

"It really is." Mina repeated, staring directly at Im Nayeon.

  
  



	8. Chapter 8

A melodramatic sigh, followed by a tiny body hitting her bed reminded Dahyun that she was not alone in this house (and probably never would be.) 

Not bothering to look up from the book she was reading, she just clicked her tongue,"Yes Tzu Tzu?"

"Why doesn't Sana want to be my friend?" Tzuyu whined, kicking her feet gently. 

Letting out an amused chuckle, Dahyun finally set down the book, turning to the girl. She had nested herself into Dahyun's unmade comforter and had the biggest pout on her face, cheeks still tinged red from the cold they played in earlier. 

"I don't think Sana doesn't want to be your friend."

"She doesn't want to play with me!" Tzuyu complained, snuggling herself inside the blankets further. 

"You two were playing earlier tonight-"

"She wanted to play with Nayeon more!"

"Sometimes people want to play with other people Tzu." Dahyun advised, closing her eyes. 

"Do you have someone you like?" Tzuyu asked, looking up at her with curious eyes. 

Again that image of Mina barefoot in the empty hotel pool room flashed through her mind. The way she looked back, letting the neon lights catch her dress and paint her skin in a deep artificial blue. The way she talked, soft and relaxed. How her eyes sparkled. 

But Dahyun shook her head (and that memory away), and just shrugged, "I don't like anyone like that Tzu."

"You need to date someone. You can't be lonely forever." Tzuyu poked her stomach. 

"I won't Tzu, I'll date someone."

A comfortable silence fell over the pair, just the gentle hum of Dahyun's humidifier pumping out water into the dry air. 

"When is Mommy coming back?"

That made Dahyun's eyes shoot right back open, "w-what?"

"When is Mommy coming back? She usually comes back by now." Tzuyu commented, snuggling into Dahyun's chest, closing her eyes listening to the steady beat of her heart.

"I don't know Tzu, she needs a bit of time to get better."

"Why doesn't she want me?"

"She does Tzu, she- she just-" Dahyun was at an absolute loss for words. How do you tell a five year old her mother was too fucked up to take care of her, that she was an addict. "She's just a little sick right now."

"Is that why she takes so many shots?" Tzuyu asked, putting a thumb between her lips (a habit that Dahyun had tried to break many times).

"No. It's not lile that Tzuyu."

"I love you Auntie Dahyun." Tzuyu whispered out, half asleep, "you don't leave me like Mommy."

Dahyun just rubbed her back, trying to blink back the tears threatening to spill from her own eyes. 

She watched as Tzuyu's dad came and swept her sister off her feet. He was tall, handsome, and had that bad boy attitude to him that made women go crazy over him. Something always seemed off about it. 

So when he tried to whisk her sister away to Taiwan, Dahyun advised it wasn't a good idea. Begged her not to go, to leave him. But she didn't listen, she left, got pregnant, and came back. Alone. 

Shortly after Tzuyu was born did Dahyun see the change. How her pupils were always dialated, how she talked in tongues, how she got scarily slim. How every trace of that heroic older sister had disappeared.

And then she took Tzuyu the first time. Only two months old, and completely not ready to be away from her mother, Tzuyu was dumped on Dahyun's doorstep with the promise of it just being a one night sleepover. She didn't see her sister for six months after that.

Babies cry, that's just a default, but Tzuyu seemed to cry more as a baby then any other Dahyun had ever encountered. Countless nights were spent crying with the child, just asking her to stop crying for a few minutes. Let her have a few hours of sleep. Drink from her bottle, or let Dahyun change her diaper with no complaints. 

Jihyo had been a godsend, swooping in and helping the girl take care of her niece even if they weren't technically blood related. It just took one late night tear filled phone call for Jihyo to move the pair of them into her small studio apartment. 

But Dahyun's sister came back, and took Tzuyu away again with empty promises that she was clean and she could do it now. 

But Tzuyu came back. 

Once again when she was two.

Again when she was four. 

And now again when she was five. 

It was something Dahyun could never fathom, how calm Tzuyu stayed. She never through a fit when her mother came for her. She just waved bye and left Dahyun with some sort of treat to keep until she saw her again. 

Until she was once again dumped into Dahyun's waiting arms. Ready to care and offer a bed and a warm meal. 

So Dahyun just layed with Tzuyu, rubbing gentle circles on the child's back, as Tzuyu cuddled into her and clutched her puppy toy in-between small chubby fingers. Listened to the small sucking sounds coming from where she instinctively held her thumb in her mouth. Dahyun just blinked away the tears, staring at the ceiling, counting the glow in the dark stickers that she never knew why felt so natural. Twenty-seven. She whispered into the room to no one in particular, "I love you too Tzu Tzu."

...

"Again! Again!" Momo cheered, rasing her arms and jumping. Nayeon quickly complied, picking the girl up by under her armpits and tossing her into the air before quickly securing her back into her awaiting hands and assisting her back to the floor. 

"Me next!" Sana demanded, getting herself into position. Nayeon repeated her actions, earning giggling and laughter from the younger twin. 

"Did you two do your homework?" Mina inquired, getting a fast nod from both the twins, "are you sure?"

"Yes!" They both chimed in at the same time. 

"I helped them with it," Nayeon confirmed, "they sat in the tent and I helped when I wasn't serving customers."

"Okay-"

"Can we watch Sailor Moon now?" Momo asked, standing up on the couch, looking over to her mom with big pleading eyes. "We did out homework so we can watch Sailor Moon."

"Yeah!" Sana chimed in, mirroring Momo's actions. 

"Girls, that was different- we don't- I can't say- ask Nayeon. It's her house."

Immediately big puppy dog eyes turned to Nayeon, suffocating her in their small pouts and batting eyelashes. She had no choice but to nod her head yes, earning loud cheers from the two younger girl. 

After flipping on a random episode, Momo found her way into Nayeon's lap, while Sana found her own onto Mina's. Not even ten minutes into the episode, loud snores could be heard coming from Momo. 

"Mommy?" Sana whispered, motioning Mina in closer to her ear. Complying, Sana acted like she was telling the biggest secret of all, "the show is in Japanese."

"Huh?"

"Why isn't it in Korean?" Sana asked, "will Nayeon get mad when she notices?"

Listening closer, Mina immediately did recognize the Japanese rolling off the characters tongues. It had taken her a moment, but it made a lot more sense why she could understand every word now. Upon further inspection, there was no Korean subtitles. Mina let her gaze settle upon Nayeon, who just stared blankly at the TV, stroking a sleeping Momo's hair. She wore that look on her face just told Mina she had absolutely no idea what she was saying. But Mina just stayed quiet and turned back to the show, pretending not to notice. 

After a few more episodes, both Sana and Momo were sound asleep, spread out over both of their laps. Mina picked up Sana and brought her to the bed in Nayeon's spare bedroom, nearly having a heart attack when she turned around to go pluck Momo up. Momo was right in front of her, still sound asleep being carried by Nayeon gently. She placed her down in the bed, and made sure to tuck a blanket over both sleeping girls before turning to Mina, "Ready for bed?"

Mina just nodded, before tilting her head, "you didn't tell me you speak Japanese."

"I don't." Nayeon smiled, "goodnight Mina."

And with that she left, leaving the young mother stunned. But she just curled up next to her girls, letting them both snuggle up to her, and looked at the ceiling. Twenty-seven glow in the dark stars could be counted from where Nayeon had set them up when Mom cried because she was afraid of the dark.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> twitter; @taeroj1  
> hashtag; #TwiceCDL


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